


When the Unseen Become Known

by The_Wolf_Of_Winter



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Human world AU, cryptid AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wolf_Of_Winter/pseuds/The_Wolf_Of_Winter
Summary: Viney Griffin had lived in Elkhorn Wisconsin her whole life and never saw anything out of the ordinary, sure there was the dairy crazed tourist or the occasional hockey superfan, but she never paid any mind to the whispers of a monster lurking in cornfields after dark. But when the new girl, Luz Noceda convinces her to do a stakeout for the strange beast she finds herself way over her head.Emira Blight was content with being a rich and popular prankster, never thinking that high school offered anything more than the opportunity to skip class and terrorize her teachers. But when her little sister asks for a favor to help impress her crush, Emira finds that there is a lot more to the world than her protected bubble.But what neither girl expected was to fall head over heels in whatever horror movie they were now living in.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Boscha/Willow Park, Edric Blight/Jerbo, Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 15
Kudos: 95





	When the Unseen Become Known

Viney Griffin despised her hometown. To be fair, Elkhorn Wisconsin wasn’t the worst place to live, quite the opposite actually, it was quiet and fairly safe, despite being annoyingly cold for nine months of the year. There just wasn’t anything to do, nothing interesting going on, unless you counted the bookclub meets at the library, which Viney really didn’t. 

The buildings were old fashioned and worn down, adding to supposed colonial charm. But it was still a small town, less than ten thousand residents, and everyone knew each other in some way or another. The days all blended together to the point Viney felt like she was trapped in the eighties after living in the modern era her entire life.

The routine of it all bothered Viney, it was as if everyday was predetermined. Wake up, walk to school, attend class, go home, take her horse, Puddles, out for a ride, and if she was lucky go out to dinner with either her father, if he was home, or her friends. The most exciting thing about the town was the rumors of a monster, but Viney thought it was a load of bullshit. Someone had just made something up, sending the whole town into hysterics over absolutely nothing. 

But until she was in college she would just have to grin and bear it. Walking the half mile to school and rolling her eyes at whatever tourists were stupid enough to come to town.

It was a Friday morning in the late spring, but the grass was still frosted over from the freeze overnight. Shivering, Viney briskly walked through the town center. Passed the old church that seemed to sway in the wind as she passed, as if it were going to topple over at any moment.

She had long since given up on trying to untangle her earbuds, as long as they worked Viney could care less. She turned her playlist up as she crossed the street, stopping dead as she spotted the local news anchor, Perry Porter. He was holding out his microphone to someone Viney couldn’t quite recognize, curiosity got the best of her and she paused her music.

Drawing closer to the two, Viney couldn’t help but roll her eyes in disappointment as she caught the end of the interview.

“You heard it here folks. The first sighting of the roadside beast in over twenty years! The locals thought that it had died all those years ago… Where has it been all this time? Lurking in the cornfields, watching and waiting for unsuspecting prey? Back to you Dana.”

Viney scoffed, unpausing her music. This town was ridiculous, was everyone so starved for excitement that they would promote this garbage? She continued her walk to school, pushing the exchange to the back of her mind. She checked the time and quickened her pace, wanting to get there early to meet up with her friends.

Viney had only two really good friends, and she was more than fine with that. The three of them had met in eighth grade detention and had been inseparable ever since. With them, what you saw is what you got. They stuck to what they said and didn’t waver, Viney admired that immensely. Before she had met them there were of course others, but the backstabbing, shit-talking, and general toxicity was too much to handle. She split off from them shortly after, done with their crap, and more content being a loner.

Then, new student, Luz Noceda, moved from Miami, to middle of nowhere Wisconsin and seemed to banish negativity wherever she went. Maybe it was her determination and childlike excitement, but she had even melted the ice queen, Amity Blight’s heart. School became a significantly less antagonistic place, sure there was Boscha Stark and Skara Harper with their crew of popular minions, but they had learned quickly that they wouldn’t get whatever reaction they were for out of Viney.

She made her way into the front courtyard of the highschool, smiling when two boys waved at her. Jeremy Boyce and Barkley Radolf, going by Jerbo and Barcus respectively. 

She had met the two after she had been too proud to back down from a dare. She brought Puddles, her chestnut roan rescue horse, that as near as she can tell is some sort of cross between a arabian and a mustang, to school in order to impress her old ‘friends’. Barcus' offense was much less outlandish, his homeroom teacher hadn’t heard him respond to the attendance and marked him absent, causing him to get ‘caught’ for skipping. The thing is that Barcus couldn’t respond even if he wanted to, he is actually deaf. He had signed at the teacher wildly but no one stood up for him to say that he was present. Viney and Jerbo practiced sign language over and over just to be able to talk to him, both now subconsciously signing whenever they had a conversation, and turns out he was one of the most interesting people she had ever met. And Jerbo, well Jerbo is ridiculously talented at robotics. But sometimes his inventions don’t work out the way he intended, the particular one that day it short circuited and set off the fire alarms.

All three supposed delinquents had found themselves sitting in detention afterschool. It only took the supervisor twenty minutes into their hour and a half sentence to fall asleep. Once the three eighth graders were sure then man was completely out, they abandoned their homework and started talking instead. They had been inseparable ever since.

“V-Viney! My moms made us p-pierogi for lunch t-today. And enough c-croissants for all of us!” Jerbo stuttered out, with a toothy smile. He was a gangly boy, tall and skinny, with brown eyes to match his hair. A smattering of sparse acne covered his face but she knew it never bothered him. He looked like a stereotypical nerd, and the resident bullies always took it upon themselves to remind him.

But ever since he had made an appearance in Viney life she knew that he and his family were incredibly kind and generous. They were a picturesque middle class family who volunteered at soup kitchens and at the community garden. Viney always felt a twinge of yearning when she saw them together, she loved her father more than anything, but she didn’t get to see him as much as she wanted to.

“Y _our moms are the best! Did they pack any chocolate hummus?”_ Barcus sighed, smacking his lips. Barcus was, appearance-wise, the complete opposite of Jerbo. He was the same height as Viney, with pale skin and almost alarmingly ginger hair. His green eyes were more vibrant then Viney’s moss green ones, but they held a wisdom that seemed impossible for a seventeen year old.

 _“You know they did!”_ Jerbo signed back excitedly.

 _“I can’t believe you guys like that stuff. Chocolate should be chocolate and hummus should just be hummus,”_ Viney signed as they began to walk into the main building of the school, chatting about their weekends, Jerbo made a plant based robot and Viney taught Puddles how to bow. Following each other to their respective lockers, when Viney was roughly shouldered to the side.

“Oh would you look at that, it’s stutters, the fake deaf, and the horse girl. What were you doing this weekend? Shoveling shit?” A pink haired girl snarked, a chorus of snickers echoed around her.

“Yeah right into your daddy’s wallet. Wanna check?” Viney sneered. Jerbo gave her a wide eyed look as he disguised his laugh with a cough, Barcus wheezing beside him.

Boscha Stark was the typical popular jock. One of the first girls to make the basketball team and on top of that captain, she thought she was hot shit. She was tall, athletic, and talented. She was also fairly good looking, with sun kissed skin, steel blue eyes, and pink hair that was normally tied back into a bun with two strands hanging in front to frame her face. But she was also an entitled brat, who had access to more money than any teenager ever should. To top it all off she was a rude, obnoxious, bully that thought the Earth was made just for her.

“Whatever dipstick,” Boscha growled, turning and signaling her group.

“Good one Boscha!” a dark skinned girl sniggered. Skara Harper was Boscha’s right hand ditz. Her grey eyes held nothing of substance behind them and her two tone hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the top being a pinkish-grey color and the underside being black. As dumb as Skara may be she was a phenomenal singer and could play more instruments that anyone knew what to do with, her favorite of which being a lyre. She was also a fantastic actor and always got the lead in the annual musical.

Viney flipped off the group as they walked off, who did these freshmen think they were trying to talk down to a junior?

“Y-You know she’s g-gonna be extra b-bitchy tomorrow r-right?” Jerbo asked wearily.

“Yup,” Viney said, pulling out her textbooks from the locker. “If she actually manages to hurt my feelings I’ll give her a goddamn medal.” 

_“Seriously, she learned last time not to try anything,”_ Barcus signed, shivering while Viney smirked. Boscha and her crew tried to pull some “revenge” on the trio as they went out for dinner at Super Burrito, thanks to some pepper spray they learned that Viney wasn’t going to play the victim in their sick game.

“In my defense she shouldn’t have snuck up on us. Imagine if I had bear spray instead!” Viney exclaimed while Jerbo shook his head.

“You’re l-lucky that they didn’t g-get p-permanent eye damage t-then it would be you a-against a bunch of rich s-snobs in court,” Jerbo stuttered.

“Worth it,” Viney muttered. Turning to walk to her first class, she double checked her schedule. American History… Great.

Her eyes widened as a girl skidded past her, knocking into the wet floor sign before falling over. The latina scrambled back up, looking around to make sure no one saw and was satisfied when everyone else was going about their business. Two freshmen followed, the dark haired girl pinched the bridge of her nose with a slight smile and the younger boy cringed in empathic pain.

“Viney!” Luz said, stumbling over to them. “Whoops. Did you hear?” Luz Noceda had moved to town about three months ago, in the middle of the school year. Ever since she had moved in a new excitable energy had been introduced to the high school. The amount of shenanigans that the short-haired girl had gotten herself into rivaled even the infamous Blight twins. But where they appeared as untouchable in every way, Luz’s endearing clumsiness made her all the more human. She had helped out the trio not long ago and Viney decided that the latina and her friends were people worth being around.

“Hear what?” she raised an eyebrow while Jerbo leaned over her shoulder curiously, translating the conversation for Barcus.

“About the monster!” Viney groaned and was unsurprised to hear a scoff.

“Luz told you, that’s nothing but a superstition,” Willow Park said gently. Viney tilted her head at the girl, she had seen Willow around before but had never really talked to her. She saw the raven haired girl jogging the trails where she and Puddles frequented. Willow seemed nice enough, and besides anyone tormented by Boscha was generally an upstanding human being in Viney’s opinion.

“But it was on the news!” Luz whined, turning to the dark skinned boy. “Gus’ dad reported on it.”

“He did! And there’s a whole legend about the beast!” Augustus Porter exclaimed. He had only recently begun using a nickname, probably given to him by Luz and it just happened to stick. He was the youngest freshman in Elkhorn history and was the creator of the cryptid club at the school. Viney was unsurprised to find that he was ecstatic about the prospect of a dangerous, unknown creature roaming the local cornfields.

“W-wait. The B-Beast of Bray R-Road?” Jerbo asked, wide eyed. Everyone but Luz had grown up to the stories of a werewolf-like creature, either their parents, teachers, or even strangers passed on the legend. Some took it more seriously than others, like Luz and Gus apparently. Viney was content with the skepticism she had for the beast, she had never seen it and she had lived in Elkhorn her whole life. Seeing was believing after all. 

“Yeah, the one and only! It’s this werewolf, six feet tall with glowing yellow eyes. A bunch of people have seen it kneeling on the side of the road eating road kill,” Gus said, pulling a notebook out of his backpack. 

_"Gross,”_ Barcus signed, Viney and Jerbo nodded in agreement.

“Have you ever even seen it Gus?” Willow asked dubiously.

“Yeah! And how do you know it’s not some freaky homeless guy?” Viney added. Gus and Luz looked at them incredulously.

“A hairy guy eating raw roadkill is a better explanation than a werewolf?” Luz asked.

“Yes!” Viney and Willow exclaimed, while Jerbo was frantically signing to Barcus.

“I bet you twenty bucks that it’s real!” Luz challenged.

“You're so on!” Viney stuck out her hand and Luz shook it.

“How do you two even plan on finding a winner?” Willow asked tiredly, it was too early in the morning for this and she hadn’t even finished her tea.

“Just like in the latest Monster Hunter Azura movie, we do a stake out!” Luz clasped her hands together, her eyes shining.

“Hate to break it to you but none of us can drive, and I don’t know about you but I am not going out at night without the protection of a car, monster or no monster,” Viney proclaimed, getting nods of agreement from the group.

“Don’t worry about that! I know someone who can help!” Luz said, eyes zeroing in on something behind them.

“Amity!” Luz called out, causing the group to turn to look at the golden eyed girl.

“O-Oh hi Luz! And uh co,” the teal haired girl said, her grip on her books turned white and she shifted her weight nervously. Amity Blight was the resident valedictorian, the only people who rival her grades were her own siblings. But whereas the twins were absolute freeloaders, Amity worked hard and even though she could be uptight, Viney respected her work ethic. There was always a visible weight on Amity’s shoulders and before Luz transferred she rarely smiled, she most definitely didn’t laugh. Viney didn’t blame her fair, if she had willingly spent time with Boscha and Skara she would have a perpetual scowl on her face as well.

Luz bounded over to her like an excited puppy and latched on to Amity’s arm. Viney raised an eyebrow when Amity’s face turned pink and looked around the small group, making eye contact with Willow, exchanging a smirk. This was an interesting development.

“Ami you’ve got to help us!” Luz cried dramatically. Amity’s face went from pink to scarlet in five seconds flat.

“A-Ami?” the flustered girl questioned. Viney hid a smile behind her hand, the infallible Amity Blight was dethroned by a simple crush. 

“I give all my friends nicknames, do you not like it?” Luz asked innocently, leaning closer to Amity quizzically.

“No! I mean, no. I don’t mind it,” Amity cleared her throat, leaning away from the excitable girl still hanging onto her arm. “Did you, um, need something?”

“Oh right! Em can drive right?” Amity scoffed at the question.

“Yes she can… Why I get into the car with her and Ed every morning is beyond me,” Amity rolled her eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh well we kind of need a favor.”

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~_ **

Viney was regretting making this bet with Luz immensely. Amity had texted her sister, and after many dings of her phone she finally informed the group that the twins had parties they were attending all weekend so they could only do it tonight. Luz readily agreed and threw her arms around the teal haired girl, who once again turned bright red.

Barcus and Gus unfortunately had certain curfews they had to follow. Gus had an internship at the news agency the next morning, while Barcus had tutoring that night and couldn’t get out of it. The rest of the group promised to keep them posted on their, in Viney’s opinion, wild goose chase.

They met up after the last bell to discuss logistics for that night, eventually deciding to meet back in the school parking lot at 10 that night. Viney watched as each of them left; Willow was picked up by one of her dads in a red Mini Cooper, Amity was called by an obnoxious honking from an equally obnoxious purple Jeep, and Luz hopped on the back of a black motorcycle driven by a woman with wild silver hair.

When only Jerbo and herself left, she turned to head back into the building. Jerbo placed a hand on her shoulder, the other on his beat up green mountain bike.

“Are you s-sure you don’t want a r-ride home?” he asked.

“I’m fine, thanks. I don’t want to have to walk back here in the dark,” she offered him a half smile.

“A-Alright…” he sighed. “Is t-there anything I can get you?”

“Jerbo, you know you and your moms don’t have to keep feeding me right?” she asked, though not unkindly. She was grateful for Jerbo bringing her lunch everyday, but she had managed to scrape by before she had met him. She didn’t want to burden him or his family. Without realising it, her expression soured.

“I k-know that look,” Jerbo playfully chastised her. “It’s no t-trouble at all. Seriously my moms w-would love to adopt y-you if you’d let t-them. I’ll b-bring you dinner and s-some hot apple c-cider, ok?”

“Yeah that sounds good. Seriously, thank you Jerbo.” he smiled at her as he fastened his helmet. She watched him pedal away before heading to the school library. 

She passed the janitor, a kind old man who deserved to be paid way more for all the bullshit he put up with. Waving at him she slipped into the quiet library to claim her favorite study spot.

It was a simple bean bag wedged in between two tall shelves and a wall. There was one entrance and it was just cramped enough to make Viney feel secure, but she still had room to spread out her books and homework.

The school locked up much later because rehearsals for the musical were going on. So instead of getting kicked out of the library at five, she managed to stay there until eight. But eventually the kindly janitor found her, she heard the jingling of his keys long before he approached, letting her know that it was closing time.

She packed her bag and made her way to the front of the school, taking a seat on one of the cold stone steps. She watched as the theater kids filed out of the schools, exhaustion and pride written on each of their faces as they went to their own or their parents' cars. 

The spring night’s chill crawled up her spine as she sat, bathed in the orange streetlights, pulling her jacket tighter around her. She contemplated texting Jerbo, not wanting to be alone in the cold. Unease coursed through her as she looked side to side alertly. She didn’t know if the nerves were from the dark or the monsters she knew were somewhere out there, werewolf or just simply human.

Her resolve quickly crumbled and she shot Jerbo a text asking when he could be back. She only waited about twenty seconds before she got his response, _on my way_. Her heartbeat slowed significantly but there was still a ridgeness in her spine and a tension in her muscles.

She only relaxed when she saw Jerbo speed into the parking lot, storing his bike in the rack. He walked over to her, slinging his backpack off his shoulder, and displayed his nightly spoils. Two thermoses, one filled with hot apple cider the other filled with leftover _Kabuli Pulao_.

When Jerbo had first started bringing her food she admittedly was a fairly picky eater. But she quickly got used to his moms’ amazing cooking of their favorite dishes that they had each grown up with. So now Viney would jump at every chance she could to go over to his house for dinner.

They sat in relative silence as she ate, Jerbo pulling out his own homework and began scribbling down the answers. Viney looked on over his shoulder and eventually began to help, offering the answers she had gotten earlier. Eventually a comfortably familiar conversation picked up between the two.

“S-So have you ever m-met the Blight twins?” Jerbo finally asked as he put away his completed homework.

“Not really,” she frowned slightly. “I have chem with one of them, not like they show up though.”

“I h-heard they realised five r-racoons in the gym,” Jerbo grimaced.

“Was that the day the fire alarms got pulled?” she asked.

“Y-Yeah, they also did t-that as a distraction,” he rolled his eyes.

“Rich kids are so freaking weird,” she muttered, Jerbo nodded in agreement. “I wonder if they only do dumb shit cause they can get away with it.”

“P-Probably. Their reputation c-certainly makes it l-look that way...” Jerbo trailed off as light filtered into the parking lot in front of them. A motorcycle rumbled in and parked on the curb, Luz hopping off with an excitable wave. She stopped for a moment to hug the silver haired driver before bounding over to them.

“Hey guys! I thought I was going to be the first one here. Eda was going to wait with me until the others got here. She complained about it a lot, but she loves me!” Luz smiled at them. 

She flopped down next to Jerbo and began to animatedly show them videos of her rescue border collie, King. Viney pulled out her own phone to show off Puddles, and on it went.

Willow arrived next, bringing hot chocolate for the group. She immediately received approval from the whole group, Jerbo asking her how she made it. Viney smiled into her cup as she watched her friends banter back and forth, she started to think that showing up to this wasn’t the worst idea.

Eventually a black Lincoln truck with blaring music pulled smoothly up to the curb closest to the small group. Viney raised her eyebrows as all four doors opened, Amity was the first one out, her hands pressed over her ears and an exasperated scowl marring her face. 

Out of the front passenger seat stepped a tall boy with hair the color of malachite. Like Amity, his eyes were golden and he wore clothes that were probably more expensive than her father’s monthly wage. He had a crooked smile that just screamed trouble, hair that was styled well enough to appear messy but sophisticated, and a beauty mark under his left eye. He carried himself with the swagger of a young James Dean.

Around from the back of the car Boscha appeared unexpectedly, eyes glued to her phone and smacking her bubblegum in her mouth.

“What is she doing here?” Luz bristled, Viney and Willow moving behind her. All three girls narrowed their eyes at the notorious bully, none of them willing to put up with her attitude tonight.

“She’s just here because she heard Wil-” Amity was cut off sharply by Boscha stamping hard on the other girl's foot with a glare.

“I just wanted to film you losers looking like idiots,” Boscha said snarkily, it was hard to tell because of the dark but Viney was almost positive she saw the girl’s face turn as pink as her hair.

“Can’t you kids play nice,” a voice as smooth as silk drawled from the other side of the car. Heeled boots clicked against the pavement as a tall girl appeared from the driver’s side. Her malachite hair was drawn back into an immaculate braid, pearls looping down the middle to end as the tie that held her hair in place. She wore a fashionable royal purple jumpsuit, with flared out pant legs embroidered with triangular lace cutouts up to her knees and a black trench coat. 

She looked more like a professional model than a junior in high school, with high cheekbones, perfectly even heart shaped lips, and golden eyes so striking they seemed to burn holes into Viney’s skin. The brunette knew she had been staring too long, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away from the marble statue that seemingly came to life and stood before her.

“Yeah Mittens, you said your friends were cool,” Edric Blight pouted as he leaned against the car.

“Maybe they are Ed, that one is kinda cute,” Emira nodded in her direction. And it was as if a bomb went off in Viney’s head, shattering the illusion that had started to build around the pretty girl. The brunette rolled her eyes, doing her best not to sneer at the other girl.

“I don’t know Em,” Edric tapped his chin in mock contemplation. “I’d personally go for the tall one.” Jerbo flushed at her side, looking the opposite way of the other boy with his cheeks puffed out.

“Everyone knows that short girls are superior, hot and feisty,” Emira smirked. “Plus she has freckles, how cute is that?” Viney felt her blood come to a boil as those words rooted her to the spot, she was torn between marching over there to show Emira Blight how feisty she could be or shrinking back to hide behind Jerbo.

“Emira, Edric, stop bothering them,” Amity chastised, sounding as if this speech had been repeated many times. “How would you like it if someone talked about you like that?” Slow smirks spread across both twins lips, as if they had stumbled upon a pot of gold.

“I personally wouldn’t mind,” Ed sighed dramatically. “And I know you wouldn’t either Mittens if your crush was talking about you.” Viney watched as Amity’s whole face flushed an angry scarlet while her siblings snickered.

“Wait Amity, you have a crush on someone?” Luz asked, Viney couldn’t quite read the emotion behind it.

The twins started cackling from their spot near the car as Amity started sputtering uselessly. Viney’s first impressions of Blight twins very clearly matched up with their reputation, shallow rich kids that took pleasure in the embarrassment of others.

“Can we please get going,” she growled, through gritted teeth. “I’d love to be asleep before one in the morning.”

“Whatever you want _dimples_ ,” Emira winked at her before moving around the hood of the car.

“Shove it _princess_ ,” she sneered, arms folded over her chest.

“ _Princess…_ ” she heard the other girl chuckle. “I’m an heiress actually.”

“No one cares Em,” Amity muttered.

“I care!” Edric pipped up, earning a devastating glare from his younger sister.

They piled into the car. Willow, Luz, and Amity in the very back row. In front of Willow sat Boscha, who had been surprisingly quiet through the whole ordeal and only rolled her eyes occasionally. Jerbo climbed in next to her, apprehensive but a decidedly better fate then standing alone in the cold. As Viney moved to sit next him, Edric slipped by her so quickly that she almost did a double take. He sent her a cocky smirk as she sighed, opening the front passenger door.

Emira’s golden eyes shifted with mischief and mirth in a way that caused Viney’s heart to rise into her throat. It was almost as if those eyes were an incantation, a call to something unknown, whatever it was VIney sure as hell didn’t want to find out. Emira was the cat and Viney felt herself slipping into the role of the mouse. 

Viney slammed the car door shut, cursing the pretty girl under her breath. Said pretty girl chuckled quietly, as if this was a routine she had seen before.

“What’s wrong _freckles_?” Emira said lightly, golden eyes glittering as the car’s engine rumbled to life. Viney crossed her arms over chest and stared out the window, eyes fixated petulantly on the darkened road.

She felt Emira’s burning gaze on her profile and had to make a conscious effort to not meet the taller girl’s alluring gaze. She had to get a hold of herself. She didn’t like bratty rich girls, no matter how attractive they were.

“Are you ignoring me?” Emira asked in amusement. “That’s cute, but I think a conversation might be more fun.”

“What do you even want to talk about?” the brunette asked through gritted teeth. “And keep your eyes on the damn road.”

“I can multitask,” the older Blight girl drawled.

“No you can’t!” Emira rolled her eyes at her younger sister’s protest. “What grade are you in?”

“I’m a junior,” Viney tried to hold in a scoff, they had been going to the same school since middle school.

“Interesting,” Emira’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel. “Are you new in town?” Viney actually scoffed at that, not at all surprised.

“I’ve lived here my whole life. But I don’t expect that you would have noticed.” Emira hummed, apparently unperturbed. “My loss then. I suppose I should make up some time now.”

Viney was at a loss for words, worrying at her bottom lip in discomfort. She knew that Emira, and Edric for that matter, were trouble. But, the taller girl was undoubtedly charming.

She turned slightly, hoping to catch Jerbo’s eye. The other boy was so focused on stuttering out an answer to Edric that he didn’t even notice her gaze. His cheeks were bright red and puffed out, hands fidgeting in his lap. Edric looked completely smug, knowing his charm was working. To what extent Viney couldn’t quite pick up.

Amity for her part was in a similar part boat as Jerbo. Her shoulder was pressed against Luz’s side while the latina’s arm was wrapped around her shoulders. The short haired girl animatedly talked with Willow, who’s eyes were drooping tiredly. The drowsy girl was so busy covering her yawn she didn’t seem to notice Boscha sneaking glances at her.

“Eyes on me short-stack,” Emira purred, a hand brushing Viney’s own gently.

“Creative,” Viney deadpanned.

“Eh, never claimed to be a poet,” Emira shrugged.

“Clearly...” 

The car sped down the highway, taking an exit onto a poorly lit road. Viney had her head pressed the cool window, giving disinterested responses to Emira’s persistent questions. Bray road was barren in the cold spring evening, a layer of snow coated the farmlands and the pine trees. The silver of the moon in the sky seemed to illuminate the surrounding area casting an eerie glow.

Emira slowed the car to a rhythmic rumble as the eight teens strained their eyes on the roadside. Viney could hear Luz’s leg jittering up and down in excitement, as well as when Amity gently placed a hand on the latina’s knee.

They rolled down the pavement, eyes scanning the boringly empty side. Viney made a smug eye contact with Luz who stuck out her tongue in return. Emira eventually was satisfied with the vacancy and did a three point turn and reversed down the road.

They rolled down the pavement, eyes scanning the boringly empty side. Viney made a smug eye contact with Luz who stuck out her tongue in return. Emira eventually was satisfied with the vacancy and did a three point turn and reversed down the road.

As they came upon the clearing with an expansive cornfield a chill ran up Viney’s spine. An unnatural cold spread into her bones as her throat tightened. She glanced nervously around the car. The rest of the group was in a similar shape, even Boscha had looked up from her phone and turned pale.

Amity’s horrified gasp stilled the car as the rest of them collectively followed her gaze. A figure was hunched over near the treeline, and it was so obviously not human. It had broad shoulders and was sitting back on its haunches. Brown fur, streaked with grey, and its two large ears placed on top of its head that could only be described as wolfish.

It must have seen the beams of the brake lights, turning its large head to reveal a long snout and a opossum was gripped in its razor sharp claws, that had been torn into almost beyond recognition. Its maw stained red with blood. 

The pupils in its yellow eye were strikingly small as it studied the car. And then it sneered at them, almost as if to say, ‘I’m here… What are you going to do about it?’

“Shit, did I hit that racoon?” Emira broke the silence of terrified awe.

“Not the time Em,” Amity hissed.

“But now I feel bad!” the older Blight girl whined.

They sat there for an inordinate amount of time, sizing each other up, until finally Boscha, with her jaw set, rolled down her window.

“Hey shithead! Where the hell have you been?” the blue eyed girl yelled, but there was the unusual waiver of fear in her voice. A sound was emitted from the beast, a growl of broken glass, as it bared its fangs at them.

“Boscha! You seriously felt the need to piss off the werewolf?” Willow exclaimed, her voice an octave higher than normal.

“I thought the whole point of doing this was to find out where the hell it was!” Boscha yelled back.

“That didn’t mean you had to call it a shithead!”

“Well it looks like one!”

The car erupted into chaos, Luz and Viney immediately coming to Willow’s defense as Amity put her head in her hands. Edric and Emira unhelpfully commented on both sides adding to the discourse. Jerbo was the only one who kept his eyes on the looming threat on the side of the road.

“ _G-Guys_?” he squeaked, but his question fell upon deaf ears. 

“You are a bully, Boscha!”

“Why are you even here?”

“You’re just jealous of how popular I am!”

“The only place you’ll be popular is hell!”

“Screw you!”

“G-Guys.” Jerbo tried again.

“Amity I thought you said this would be more fun than sitting at home!”

“It’s literally just like home.”

“Oh yeah, with all the incoherent screaming!”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I literally had any other options!”

“Rude!”

“GUYS!” Jerbo screeched, finally drawing the attention of the car. “It’s getting closer!”

The Beast of Bray Road was indeed getting closer, it loomed a few feet away from the car, shoulders hunched and teeth barred. It’s humanoid body was illuminated by the brake lights and it’s heavy breath puffed white in the cold air. It flexed its claws and growled at them.

“What the hell do we do!” Emira whispered harshly, her eyes frantically darted from the steering wheel to the werewolf in front of them. Viney watched a malicious glint flash in the unholy yellow eyes and it’s apparent muscles tensed.

“Drive!” Viney hissed. The beast leapt into the air, a demonic grin appeared on it’s bloodstained lips. “Emira drive!”

The Blight girl slammed her foot on the gas but the damage had already been done. The wolf-like creature had landed on the hood of the Lincoln, the screech of metal tearing filled the air like a furious siren.

 _"_ Mom is going to fucking kill us!” Edric cried.

“That’s what you’re worried about right now?” Amity screamed.

“Shut the hell up! I’m trying to save our sorry asses!” Em swerved on to the other side of the road, Viney gripped the bottom of her seat. The werewolf stayed firmly planted on the car hood, leaning down shifting it’s gaze from Viney to Emira to the passengers in the backseats. 

“Emira this isn’t working!” Viney whimpered, her heartbeat was in her throat and her blood was pounding haphazardly. The brunette felt the other girl’s golden gaze flit onto her as she tightened her grip on the seat, knuckles turning white.

“You’re right,” Emira said determinedly, setting her jaw. “Hang onto something.” Emira pressed on the gas pedal, the car accelerating harshly. The speedometer ticked from forty to fifty-five and eventually settled at eighty on the straight stretch of road. Emira slammed her foot on the break, jolting all the passengers forward with a collective scream.

The beast was thrown off the hood, flying backward to come to a brutal landing on the pavement. Viney watched it stagger up to glare at them, murder in it’s eyes. Emira swung the car around and sped off, leaving whatever trace they had of the beast in the dust. They only relaxed when Bray Road was far behind them as they were cruising on the highway.

“Is everyone okay?” Emira finally asked as Viney finally looked behind her. Edric was still practically in Jerbo’s lap, Amity was red faced as she and Luz were wrapped tightly around each other, and Willow had her arms loosely hanging around Boscha’s neck with the pink haired girl’s hands clasped around the other girls wrists.

“Just peachy!” Luz said, out of breath but surprisingly cheerful. “You still owe me that twenty bucks Viney!”

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~_ **

The Monday after their with the infamous creature that made Viney twenty dollars poorer, the group met up with Barcus and Gus in the high school courtyard. She was unsurprised to discover that Willow, Jerbo, and Luz were already there, the latina was excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet as she explained the night's events animatedly.

Viney stood next Jerbo as she muttered her greetings sleepily. Barcus raised a skeptical eyebrow at the brunette’s signing, “ _You both actually saw this?_ ”

“ _Believe it, it was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced,_ ” Jerbo signed back.

 _“And I lost twenty dollars over this,_ ” Viney pouted. Gus meanwhile was frantically taking notes on what Luz was saying as Willow sipped her tea while occasionally cutting in to set Luz back on track.

“Wow they’re going to lock you all in the looney-bin,” Skara giggled as she, Boscha, and the rest of the minions walked by. “Right Boscha?”

The blue eyed girl made a noncommittal noise as she pulled out her phone, Luz childishly stuck her tongue out at the passing group of populars.

“I just wish we got that on video,” Luz whined. Willow’s phone dinged in her pocket.

“I think we do!” Willow exclaimed, showing the group her phone. They gathered around the screen, Jerbo had to lean down to see. The photoage was dark and a little grainy but there was no mistaking when the werewolf towered in front of the car.

“Who sent you this?” Gus asked excitedly.

“Boscha actually,” Willow muttered, her brow was creased in confusion.

“I guess she was actually good for something then,” Viney grumbled bitterly.

“Wait…” Luz said suspiciously. “Since when did you have Boscha’s number?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the spirit of Halloween I figured I'd write this little short (edit: I wrote this before I got done writing the chapter and this is hella long actually) story based off of legends from all around the United States. I'll be using the end notes to provide a little more background on each of the three (maybe more if people enjoy this enough) cryptids I cover.
> 
> The Beast of Bray Road was first sighted in 1936 on a rural road just outside of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. There was an increase of sightings during the 1980s and 1990s before they stopped entirely. During that time the newspaper assigned Linda Godfrey to cover the story. Godfrey was initially skeptical but was convinced by the sincerity of multiple witnesses. Multiple movies and books (one written by Godfrey herself) have come out about the beast, but since there have been no more recent sightings it's impossible to solve it
> 
> Some possible explanations are that the creature is simply an usually large coyote, some type of wolf mix, or even a bear with the mange. There were sightings in other states but they are mostly attributed to mass hysteria after a movie about the roadside beast came out. I'll link a news report if you want to hear some witness accounts yourselves.
> 
> Anyway thank you all so much for reading and please comment your thoughts!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI0P70rw1vA&t=16s


End file.
